Apparatus for treating gaseous media



March 8, 1949.. c. G. SMBTH APPARATUS FOR TREATING GASEOUS MEDIA Filed Nov. 17, 1943 Km W W 7 m lllJ MP0 m A W 6 Patented Mar. 8, i949 Charles G. Smith, Medford, Mass, assignor to Raytheon Manufacturing Company, Newton, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Application November 17, 1943, Serial No. 510,846

4 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating gaseous media with focussed radio waves;

One of the objects of the present invention is to produce a gaseous discharge in a gaseous medium by subjecting thegaseous medium to the action of focussed short wave energy,

Another object of the present invention is to subject matter to the action of focussed short wave energy and to collect its resultant products.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for delivering short wave energy from a region of relatively high electrical insulation, and focussing the energy thus delivered in a region of poorer insulating quality, said two regions being independent.

These and such further aims and objects as may hereinafter appear will be readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing of one embodiment of the present invention herein given for illustrative purposes.

If short wave energy be sumciently strongly focussed within a gaseous medium, the electrical stresses in the region of the focus can be made suiliciently intense to cause a breakdown of said gaseous medium. Energy can then be delivered to the electronic medium in the ionized region.

Referring to the drawing, the illustrative embodiment of the invention therein illustrated comprises two ellipsoidal mirrors 2 and 4, which face each other and are preferably coaxial. They are mounted upon standards 6 and 8, respectively, which may in turn be mounted upon a base id, in manner hereinafter more fully described. Each mirror is closed in front by glass or some other suitable material pervious to short wave radiation and has associated therewith a source of short wave energy, herein conveniently consisting of an oscillator I2 which may be of any suitable and conventional construction. Means are herein provided to deliver the short wave energy from said oscillators I? to the confined space It between the front and rear walis of their respective mirrors. Herein said means conveniently comprises a tubular wave guide It leading from the oscillator and terminating within said confined space [6 substantially at the focus of the mirror, Said wave guide it is preferably of the concentric conductor transmission line type havinga rod l6 extending axially thereof and terminating in a radiating dipole antenna is for radiation at the focus of said mirror. Said rod I8 is spaced from the inner wall of said wave guide I d by partitions 20, one of which also serves to close off the space I6, which contains any suitable insulating gas to increase the insulation of said space and prevent breakdown at the said radiating antenna I3. The same result might be obtained by using a vacuum or high pressure.

The oscillations delivered at the focus within said confined space it of relatively high electric insulation will be reflected by mirrors 2 and and will converge at their other focus I with the gaseous medium to be broken down, a1 which will be a region of poorer insulating qualit The focus being situated in a localized regil unlimited by boundary walls, insulators, metal] containers or other hampering influences, the i1 tense, concentrated energy will cause a free flan to be formed at the focus, which in addition its use as a means for treating matter is adapt, to other useful purposes, such as display purposl effecting chemical reactions, etc.

The gas to be broken down may be atmosphei air or any other gas. In the case of atmosphe: air the reaction can be effected in the open a and the resulting products collected in a rese voir (not shown) through a pipe 26, for examp In the case of other gases the gas may be cc: veniently supplied to the focal region from a1 suitable source of supply (not shown) through suitable feed pipe 22, and the broken down gas or other resulting products collected and convey through said pipe 24!, for example, to a suital: collector reservoir (not shown).

Mirrors curved substantially in the arc of circle may be suitably mounted as shown at i 27, to reflect back upon the mirrors 2 and respectively, any rays that may have escap reflection by said mirrors 2 and d, and thus can said rays to converge at f with the others.

While focusing the energy from a plurality sources at a common focus may increase the i:

- tensity of energy concentration at that point r gardless of the vectorial relationship of the ele trical vectors at said common focus, I prefer arrange the relative positions of the radiators a1 the relative phase of the waves radiated ther from so that at the common focus the electric vectors of each radiated wave are all in the sar direction so that said vectors are added so as su stantially to multiply the stress at the focus 1 the number of radiating sources. This increa in electrical stress at the focus facilitates t1 transfer of energy to the medium at said focus. In some cases the reaction can be increased a state of thermodynamic equilibrium be pr vented. In order to prevent approach to therm dynamic equilibrium in the gaseous medium be treated, the position of the focal region f m: be moved and shifted about within said mediu during the operation. In the illustrative emboc ment of the invention herein presented, mea: are provided to impart a relatively rapid recipr eating angular movement to mirrors 2 and about the vertical axes of standards 6 and This will cause the focal region I to swing ha and forth rapidly in a horizontal plane with the gaseous medium. To this end standards and 8 are mounted for rocking movement abo 3 axes in bearings 28 and 30. and a. crank l the end of shaft 34 of motor 35 is connected link 33 and universal joint 36 to one end of 511 rod 38, mounted for sliding movement in considered as a point in space, in a practical a focal region of substantial volume is creat- In using a plurality of radiating sources, esultant 'of the plurality of radiated waves banding wave in space whose greatest amplioccurs in the focal region. The position of oop of the standing wave within the focal n will be shifted in accordance with a relphase shift between the component waves. affords a convenient means for producing lesired shifting of the region of maximum To this end a phase shifting device may 'ovided at 44 for each oscillator 12. These ng devices are carried by the standards 6 3, respectively, and may be of any suitable, :ntional construction in which the phase is antly shifted by some suitable means, such H701 45, actuating some suitable conventional shifting circuit elements. This results in fting of the regions where the energy is :red. e use of two mirrors with their cooperating ators as above described offers certain ad- LEGS. In the first place the radiations are posed at I, thus increasing the energy input resses at that region. Furthermore, each ator may send energy in the focal region f dless of its phase relation or frequencies. ver, there is an advantage in having both ators at the same frequency and therefore a. constant phase relation, since 'unconsumed y from one oscillator .can go over to the be taken up by it and then returned to f. l be apparent, however, that apparatus with :ality of mirrors with their cooperating oscilwould fall within the scope of the present tion. The mirrors could be disposed radially their common focal region ,1. certain cases, in breaking down air to actithe nitrogen for use in preparing nitrates, (ample, it may be advantageous to use in- [dent means for the initial breakdown of egion I. But when the free flame is once lished, the energy can be fed into it by tion in accordance with the present invenand the process continued with electrical es that are lower than those required to down the medium. Whenever the expresa plurality" is used in the specification and s, it is to be understood as meaning "two we. 7 suitable sparking electrodes connected to rce of sparking potential may be used for iitial breakdown. Such a device is diagram- :ally shown, comprising two sparking elec- 46 and a. source of sparking potential 48. m aware that the present invention can he died in other specific forms without departom the spirit or essential attributes thereof, therefore desire the present description to nsidered in all respects as illustrative and estrictive, reference being had to the ap- :d claims rather than to the foregoing deion to indicate the scope of the invention. at is claimed is: apparatus for treating gaseous media comprising: a source of short wave electrical energy; a radiator coupled to said source of energy, a focusing device for concentrating the energy emanating from said radiator into a confined region of space adapted to receive the gaseous medium to be treated; and a phase-shifting device connected between said source of energy and said radiator for altering the instantaneous phase of said energy, whereby the instantaneous position of the maximum intensity of said energy within the medium-treating region may be shifted.

2. Apparatus for treating gaseous media comprising: a source of short wave electrical energy; a radiator coupled to said source of energy; a focusing device for concentrating the energy emanating from said radiator into a confined region of space adapted to receive the gaseous medium to be treated; and a .conduit extending into the medium-treating region for collecting the products of the treatment.

3. Apparatus for treating gaseous media comprising: a source of short wave electrical energy; a radiator coupled to said source of energy; a focusing device for concentrating the energy emanating from said radiator into a confined region of space adapted to receive the gaseous medium to be treated; saidfocusing device including an enclosure containing a medium of higher insulating value than that of the mediumtreating region; and a conduit extending into said medium-treating region for collecting the products of the treatment. 7

4. Apparatus for treating gaseous media comprising: a plurality of opposed sources of short wave electrical energy of like frequency/a radiator coupled to each of said sources of electrical energy; opposed focusing devices for concentrating the energy emanating from said radiators into a common, confined region of space adapted to receive the gaseous medium to be treated; and a phase-shifting device connected between each of said sources of energy and the radiator coupled thereto; said phase-shifting devices being adjustable for altering the instantaneous relative phases of said sources of energy, whereby the instantaneous position of the maximum intensity of the resultant energy within the common medium-treating region may be shifted.

CHARLES G. SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 939,733 Minor Nov. 9, 1909 1,278,026 Salto Sept. 3, 1918 1,831,011 Kolster Nov. 10, 1931 1,918,081 Blochowiak July 11. 1933 1,990,649 Ilberg Feb. 12, 1935 2,054,896 Dallenbach Sept. 22, '1936 2,089,966 Kassner Aug. 17, 1937 2,118,419 Scharlaw May 24, 1938 2,161,292 Hahnemann June 6, 1939 2,257,177 Luster Sept. 30, 1941 2,257,320 Williams Sept. 30, 1941 2,265,796 Boersch Dec. 9, 1941 2,276,497 Kroger Mar. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country 7 Date 417,501 Great Britain Apr. 18, 1934 417,564 Great Britain Apr. 18, 1934 

